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Articles by Jake Spurlock
WordPress 7.1.3 Maintenance and Security Release
This security and maintenance release features 7 security fixes and 4 bug fixes. Because this is a security release, it is recommended that you update your sites immediately. You can download WordPress 7.1.3 from WordPress.org, or visit your WordPress Dashboard, click “Updates”, and then click “Update Now”. If you have sites that support automatic background updates, the update process will begin automatically.
Today Comes to the Mac
When I launched Today on iOS last October, it was born out of that same Google Reader-shaped hole that never quite healed. A few months later, I kept finding myself reaching for it on my Mac — opening feeds on my phone while sitting in front of a perfectly good laptop. So I did something about it. Today – An RSS Reader is now available on the Mac App Store. The easy path would have been to ship the iPad version with Mac Catalyst and call it a day. But that never feels right.
Introducing Today: An RSS Reader for the Modern Age
I’m thrilled to announce the release of Today, a new RSS reader for iOS that I’ve been building with a lot of love and a little help from AI. I’ve loved RSS forever. It’s the open web at its finest—a way to follow the sites and writers you care about without algorithmic interference, without ads dictating what you see, without being locked into a single platform. When Google shut down Google Reader in 2013, it left a hole in my heart that never quite healed.
WordPress 5.2.4 Security Release
WordPress 5.2.4 is now available! This security release fixes 6 security issues. WordPress versions 5.2.3 and earlier are affected by these bugs, which are fixed in version 5.2.4. Updated versions of WordPress 5.1 and earlier are also available for any users who have not yet updated to 5.2. Security Updates Props to Evan Ricafort for finding an issue where stored XSS (cross-site scripting) could be added via the Customizer.
WordPress 5.2.3 Security and Maintenance Release
WordPress 5.2.3 is now available! This security and maintenance release features 29 fixes and enhancements. Plus, it adds a number of security fixes—see the list below. These bugs affect WordPress versions 5.2.2 and earlier; version 5.2.3 fixes them, so you’ll want to upgrade. If you haven’t yet updated to 5.2, there are also updated versions of 5.1 and earlier that fix the bugs for you. Security Updates Props to Simon Scannell of RIPS Technologies for finding and disclosing two issues.
We tested Zepp’s swing-analyzing baseball bat gadget on a Little League team
While baseball’s foundational history is contested, the core of the game has remained largely unaltered for over a century. Take a stick, hit a ball, then run to a base before the other player can throw the ball there. The bats, gloves, and shoes may have gotten more advanced, but everything else remains almost identical to the good ol’ days. What has changed is the entire world around the game.
Webmonkey Podcast: Apple News in an Era of Ad Blocking
Another week, another sit-down with WIRED Executive Editor Joe Brown as we hash out the details surrounding Apple News and how it changes the world of online publishing. We’re also joined by WIRED’s director of audience development, Eric Steuer, to chat about the recent release of iOS 9, the first version of iOS to allow ad blocking.
Webmonkey Podcast: Yep, We're Podcasting About Podcasts, Because Podcast
On this week’s episode of the Webmonkey podcast, I am joined once again by WIRED Executive Editor Joe Brown. This time around, we’re sitting down in the podcasting studio to talk about our love of podcasts. Yes, we’re going meta. Podcasting has followed an interesting path over the last few years. The format originally catapulted into popular parlance around 2005 or so with the surging popularity of iPods (hence the name), along with convenient publishing tools from Apple and others.
Webmonkey Podcast: Who Exactly 'Looks Like an Engineer'?
When OneLogin put four employees up on billboards in the Bay Area as recruiting tools, nothing could have prepared them for the type of attention that came their way. OneLogin included Isis Anchalee, a female engineer, and many accused the company of exploiting her gender in an effort to attract male engineers—or, at the very least, misrepresenting the role of women in the tech world. “I was not personally ready for the amount of attention that it has brought me,” Anchalee says.
It's Humans vs. Machines in This Week’s Webmonkey Podcast
At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference a few weeks ago, Apple-owned Beats Electronics co-founder Jimmy Iovine said humans would play a crucial role as curators—a.k.a. DJs—for its upcoming Apple Music service. “Algorithms alone can’t do that emotional task,” Iovine said.
Webmonkey Podcast: WWDC's News From a Dev's Perspective
Today on the Webmonkey podcast, I am joined once again by WIRED engineer Ben Chirlin, as well as a new guest, WIRED staff writer Julia Greenberg. This week, we go in-depth on OS X El Capitan; how Apple is undercutting Google on search by bringing more contextual results to Spotlight searches; iOS 9 and how Apple is jumping into the news game with a new app; and how they need to get publishers on board (including WIRED).
Webmonkey Podcast: E-Commerce Is Coming to WordPress.com
This here is the third episode of the Webmonkey podcast, and we’re WIRED devs Jake Spurlock and Ben Chirlin. This week, we sit down with Matt Mullenweg and chat about the recent announcement that Automattic has purchased WooCommerce, plus the potential to add eCommerce abilities to blogs on WordPress.com. Ben also gives us the skinny on Cyphon, his project to bring 20+ years of WIRED.com archives into WordPress with a custom node.js app.
Webmonkey Podcast: How the WordPress Security Team Keeps Your Blog Secure
In the second episode of the Webmonkey podcast we take a dive into web security, looking closely at the zero day cross site scripting vulnerability in WordPress 4.2, and the patch that was quickly added to fix it. Your host Jake Spurlock is joined by WIRED Lead Engineer, Zack Tollman to talk about security, best practices and more. Send the hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds (Jake Spurlock is @whyisjake and Zack Tollman is @tollmanz) or to the main hotline at @Webmonkey.
Webmonkey Podcast: Go Behind the Scenes With WIRED's Coders
WIRED announces the rebirth of Webmonkey, with a new podcast on what happens behind the scenes at WIRED, and what is happening in the greater web community. Hosted by Jake Spurlock, today he is joined by Ross Patton, where they talk about accessibility, structured data, and new products at WIRED.
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